CHAPTER XIII
END OF THE SUBMARINE FLEET
There were now opposed to the four remaining submarines, two Americanand one British cruiser and two British torpedo destroyers. TwoU-boats had been sunk by the allied fleet and so far the submarines hadfailed to deliver an effective blow.
Lord Hastings now commanded his ships to spread out a trifle more--thisgiving them more room to act while at the same time interposing aneffective barrier against torpedoes before the transports.
Aboard these transports the men were straining their eyes to get a viewof the battle and chafing at their inability to take a hand. And yetthere was hardly a man aboard the transports who did not realize thatin an encounter with a submarine, a troop ship nine times out of tenwould come off second best.
Denied the privilege of taking a hand, therefore, they stood at therails of the various ships and cheered on the fighting vessels.
There was an explosion as a torpedo found the hull of the destroyerHalifax. The ship wabbled crazily in her course, then dashed forwardagain. Apparently she was not badly hurt.
A shell from one of the guns mounted by the first submarine, a momentlater, landed squarely aboard the same destroyer and carried away hersuperstructure. Men fell to the deck dead or badly wounded.
"First blood for the Germans," said Jack to himself.
Apparently angered at this German success, the second Britishdestroyer, the Angelic, darted forward and attacked the submarine withsuch abandon and effectiveness that she was forced to give thedestroyer its entire attention. Twice the Angelic maneuvered out ofthe path of a torpedo, and then, with a well directed shot, put thesubmarine out of the battle. This shell caught the U-boat along sidethe conning tower. Iron and steel flew high in the air, and,descending, scattered death among the crew. Thus crippled, a secondshot from the Angelic disposed of her entirely and she sank beneath thewaves.
There were now but three submarines left.
"Great Scott! It's a wonder they don't submerge," said Frank. "Wonderif they think they can lick us?"
The answer came from the enemy. All three simultaneously launchedtorpedoes at the Lawrence. It was absolutely impossible for LordHastings to maneuver the ship out of the way of all three missiles. Hedid the best he could, but one of the projectiles penetrated the sideof the ship and pierce the engine room.
There was a loud explosion from below. Lord Hastings turned to Frank.
"Go below and report," he said quietly.
Frank hurried away. Meanwhile, unmindful that the Lawrence might havereceived a vital wound, Lord Hastings pressed even closer toward theenemy.
In the boiler room Frank found confusion. Three men had been killed bythe explosion. Half a dozen others had been wounded by pieces offlying steel or splinters, while several had been badly scalded byescaping water and steam.
Frank approached McMullen, the chief engineer.
"What's your damage?" he asked.
"Just what you see," replied the engineer, with a wave of his band.
"We're still able to proceed?"
"Yes, sir; and we are proceeding."
Frank could see that this was right. He went on deck again.
"Three killed and a dozen wounded, sir," he reported to Lord Hastings."No vital damage, sir."
"Very good!" returned Lord Hastings, and turned away with a command forJack.
The British vessels were now pouring such a stream of shells upon theenemy that it seemed impossible the submarines could survive. But thelittle craft stuck doggedly to their work and launched torpedo aftertorpedo at the British and Americans.
"Looks like they had decided to lick us or to go down fighting," Franksaid to Jack.
"If that's the case," was Jack's reply, "they'll go down fighting."
The German submarines made no offer to retreat. They stood theirground bravely enough.
Suddenly one of them blew up with a loud explosion. A shot from thecruiser Sandusky had found its mark.
"Only two now," said Frank. "Surely they, won't continue the fight."
But continue the fight the Germans did. Another torpedo struck theLawrence forward and exploded with a loud detonation. The Lawrencestaggered a trifle, but moved forward. Apparently the wound was notserious.
The British and Americans were right upon them now. Regardless ofpossible torpedoes, Lord Hastings pressed on. He knew that he now hadthe two remaining submarines in his grasp, and that while it waspossible a torpedo would dispose of the Lawrence, other British andAmerican ships would account for the enemy. Therefore, while notexposing himself needlessly, he advanced with more abandon thanbefore.
One, two torpedoes exploded forward and each time the Lawrencestaggered. Then the moment for which Lord Hastings had been waitingpresented itself.
A brief command to the helmsman and the Lawrence again veered sharply.She headed straight for the nearest submarine, now only yards away. Invain the German commander attempted to get his boat out of harm's way.The sharp prow of the Lawrence found its mark and the German submarinewas crushed like an egg shell.
So there was but one of the enemy left afloat.
"We'll lose him, sure," said Jack, alarmed that one of the enemymight escape. "He'll submerge."
Indeed, it seemed that this would have been the wise thing to do.Instead, however, a white flag appeared from the periscope.
"Great Scott! Surrender!" cried Frank. "I wonder why? All he had todo was submerge."
Jack shrugged his shoulders.
"Too deep for me," he said. "However, I guess the German commander hashad fighting a-plenty."
At the appearance of the white flag the British ships ceased their fire.A German appeared through the conning tower. He carried signalflags, which he waved. The signal officer aboard the Lawrencereplied.
"Says he has surrendered and that he and his men will come aboard,sir," reported the signal officer.
"I read him," returned Lord Hastings, to whom signaling was no secret."Tell him we'll send boats for him and his men and to be ready, for weshall sink his vessel as soon as all are safely aboard the Lawrence."
Again the flags flashed their message. Then the German disappeared.He came on deck again a moment later, however. Men followed him. LordHastings ordered several small boats launched, and these put off towardthe submarine.
"You can't tell me," said Frank to Jack, "that everything is right.There is something funny about this."
"Well, what is it?" demanded Jack.
"I don't know what it is, but I've a feeling--"
Frank broke off suddenly and ran to Lord Hastings.
"Treachery!" he cried. "There is something wrong, sir."
Lord Hastings looked at the lad in amazement.
"What's that?" he demanded.
"There is something wrong, sir," said Frank quickly. "I have a feelingthat the Germans are plotting treachery."
Lord Hastings smiled.
"I guess it's too late for that," he said grimly.
"However, I'm glad you warned me. I'll take the necessary precaution.Have one of the forward guns trained on the submarine, Mr. Chadwick."
Frank hurried away with a feeling of some relief, but he was not fullysatisfied.
The gun trained on the submarine, he stood by quietly.
Apparently all the Germans were now on the deck of the littlesubmarine. The British small boats had approached close--almostclose enough to take off the German crew and the German commander.
Suddenly there was a hiss from the submarine. A torpedo flashed fromthe side of the little vessel. It whizzed past the Lawrence and spedstraight toward the closest American transport.
Frank gave a cry of alarm and then commanded the man who stood by thegun already trained on the submarine: "Fire!"
"Boom!" the big gun spoke.
Then there came a terrific explosion. The German submarine, with itsofficers and crew upon its deck, was hurled high in the air as theLawrence's shell burst s
quarely amidships. It came down in a millionpieces.
Alongside, the British boats sent to take off the Germans rockedcrazily for several moments on the angry waves. When these becamestill, there was no German nor submarine to be seen.
Thanks to the watchfulness of the commander of the transport, the shiphad been able to escape the torpedo so treacherously launched by theGermans; so no harm had been done.
Lord Hastings approached Frank and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Quick work, Frank," he said. "I should have listened to you.However, nothing has come of the treachery. But I have learned thatthere is nothing sacred in the Hun mind. I shall never trust anotherGerman!"